


baritone

by apeunde



Category: SHINee
Genre: M/M, THIS IS SO LONG, cough for meg, for a prompt, some AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 20:41:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4536627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apeunde/pseuds/apeunde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I hope that everyone is doing well tonight,” the dj says with that voice that makes taemin want to roll all over the floor, and he can’t help but hum in affirmation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	baritone

It’s 12:56 am, and Taemin is so bored that he starts stacking the little packs of gum on the counter next to the cash register into his very own Jenga tower. Jongin is somewhere down the aisles, checking for stocks in case they need to order anything for the next day; he doesn’t pay him much attention though, completely focused on the task at hand.

And, maybe, a little bit on the voice of the DJ on this late night radio show blaring out of the speakers of his phone.

“Do you really listen to this guy every night?” comes the question from down one of the very slim aisles, muffled by the obstacles of shelves and chips bags. It’s not like Jongin doesn’t ask him this every night for the past three weeks they’ve been on shift together — Taemin only rolls his eyes.

“Did you ray your disc or something?” he bites back, mostly because he knows Jongin will poke his head past the next shelf in just a moment and give him one of those smug know-it-all smiles and twinkling eyes of ‘you’ve got a crush. on a voice’.

Maybe he really can foresee the future.

“Someone’s defensive lately,” Jongin chuckles good-naturedly as he strolls down the aisles and towards Taemin, the latter making it a point to not look up from his gum tower (that’s, if he might say, is growing to some impressive size).

Taemin ignores him, though, as Jongin makes his way around the counter to store the list of goods into one of the drawers under the register. It’s not on purpose that his butt shoves Taemin slightly forward, making him fall right into his bubble gum tower, scattering the packets all over the counter and the floor.

Taemin curses under his breath, and he would’ve probably strangled Jongin for ruining his perfect little tower; but when he turns around to do just that, the front door of the store opens with a little jingle. It doesn’t keep Taemin from sending a dark glare to Jongin as he turns around to face the customer, though.

“Hello, what can I do for you?” he says, albeit his voice is a little strained and his smile is not fully genuine; it doesn’t seem to faze the customer though, who’s giving him an amused look as it shifts up and down between him and the gum packets littered all across the floor.

“Had a little accident?” the blonde haired man chuckles, and it makes Taemin’s cheeks turn just a little bit pink as he’s fast to pick up almost all the gum scattered across the counter in the blink of an eye.

“Uh, yeah,” he breathes out as he looks with a little panic down unto the floor, and back up at the customer. “Can I help you with anything?”

The man just takes a snickers out of the box on the counter and smiles at him, grin only stretching wider. “I’ll take this,” he says and look Taemin right in the eye with his own wrinkled to crescents. “Oh, and,” he adds, crouching down to pick up one of the gum packs off the floor, “one of these, too. One less for you to pick up.”

Taemin feels slightly embarrassed as he gives the guy his change back. The customer gives him another radiant smile as he turns to leave, and Taemin can’t stop staring at the back of his head as he walks back out through the jingling door, mortified.

“Isn’t he—“ Jongin is about to start, but it’s not a wise decision: it makes Taemin remember his presence, earning him a growl and a kick to the butt that shoves him unto the other side of the counter.

“Pick up the mess you’ve created,” Taemin says with a pointedly dark scowl, but no matter how threatening he looks he just can’t wipe the wide ass grin off of Jongin’s face.

—

The guy comes back two nights later just a little before midnight; Taemin doesn’t immediately recognise him with his baseball cap backwards to hide his blonde hair. But he gives Taemin one of those wide smiles again as he scans in the bottle of demi soda, the cheese flavoured nachos and the two twix packs, and Taemin thinks he’s seen him before.

“No gum accidents today?” the customer says when Taemin packs his things into a plastic bag, and it’s only then that he remembers the guy in front of him. A slightly embarrassed tint of pink brushes over his cheeks, but he doesn’t let on.

“No, Jongin has the day off,” Taemin says with a shrug, only to realise that the man can’t possibly know who he’s talking about. “My coworker,” he adds swiftly, and the other nods in knowledge, giving a little ‘aah yeah’ in reply.

“Well, then I won’t keep you,” the blonde man says as he waves at him in goodbye; Taemin simply nods, unsure how to react. He watches him leave through the door, taking a left down the street, and something settles in that Taemin can’t quite place. Something seems much more familiar than only the meeting the other day, but he can’t put his finger quite on it.

He shrugs it off in the end, instead fishing his phone out of his pocket to turn the radio on. It’s about one minute into the show; Taemin puts his phone on top of the counter and rests his chin on his hands as he looks around the empty store.

“I hope that everyone is doing well tonight,” the DJ says with that voice that makes Taemin want to roll all over the floor, and he can’t help but hum in affirmation. Jongin has the night off, and Taemin can’t bring himself to check on the stock of products that need to be ordered.

“Even though it’s late, if you are still up, don’t forget to keep your energy level high!” the voice goes on with a little chuckle. It draws a lazy smile on Taemin’s face as he stares off into space, drumming his fingers on the counter top. “I myself just bought some snacks to make it through the next couple of hours — and don’t forget to stay hydrated, too!”

It makes Taemin chuckle, the softness of the voice drowning out to the cuteness towards the end. It feels strangely interactive, and Taemin wishes that the guy would work at the recording studio just down the street. Maybe he would’ve come to buy the snacks at his store, Taemin wonders. He would finally know what he looks like, put a face to the soothing voice coming out of the speakers of his phone.

The doorbell jingles again, and Taemin is risen out of his little reverie as a bunch of girls walk into the store; he lets out a little sigh as he puts on his working smile, the DJ’s voice drowned out by the giggling and chattering echoing down the aisles.

—

He doesn’t even bother to stifle the yawn that’s stretching over his face; it’s far too late (or early) to even care at this point. He takes a look at the just as tired Jongin half lying on the countertop next to him, trying to keep himself awake.

“Don’t fall asleep,” he scolds, but the words have less effect with yet another yawn turning his words into mumblings. Jongin barely stirs, one of his fingers twitching where it’s looking out from under his arm.

Taemin is able to stay at least half awake, and it’s all thanks to soothing voice DJ’s late night radio show rerun. It’s dawn now, a little past 5 am, and it’s all Taemin can focus on as he tries not to blink when the early sun rays hit his eyes through the glass doors next to the cash register.

His eyes must have fallen shut again, though, because the next thing he registers is a soft voice clearing their throat. It makes him jump up in shock, almost knocking Jongin over and unto the floor.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry—“ he starts, blinking his eyes open repeatedly as he tries to focus on the customer standing on the other side of the counter. When he looks up, the eyes meeting his are somewhat familiar.

“I seem to run into your less favourable situations a lot,” the blonde man grins again, his voice nice and soft and his grin as bright as the upcoming sun.

“I—“ Taemin starts, unsure how to reply — after all, it’s not his fault that he’s forgotten to drink that cup of coffee he really needed during the night. Or maybe it is. It’s too late to push the blame on Jongin, anyway.

“Doesn’t seem like your friend intends to wake up any time soon,” the other chuckles, and for a second Taemin feels like he knows the guy. It passes as fast as it came, though, and he’s quick to scan the bottle of milk and the cinnamon roll into the register.

“Do you need anything else?” Taemin asks, noticing how the man in front of him is looking down at his phone. Taemin completely forgot to turn the radio show off, the sweet, soft voice of the DJ running in the background. He waits for a reply, curiously looking at the suddenly a little bashful expression of his customer.

“Do you, uhm. Do you like this show?” he asks, voice a little quieter than before, almost shy. Taemin looks from the guy to his phone, and back again, blinking for a second before replying.

“Oh. Yeah, his voice is really something else,” he says with a small smile. The blonde looks at him to gauge his expression, and for a moment Taemin thinks he might see a hint of a blush blossoming on his cheeks. He accepts the money, turning to give the customer his change, but he’s met with a small smile instead of the usual big grin.

“You keep the change.” is all Taemin gets as the man takes his purchase and almost runs into the glass doors as he makes his way out of the store quickly, leaving Taemin completely dumbfounded, the change still held in his outstretched hand.

Taemin looks at the change, puzzled, but then he shrugs and lets the coins disappear into the pocket of his jeans — it’s not often that he gets a tip, and he’s not going to let Jongin lecture him on sharing.

—

“Did he come again?”

Taemin doesn’t look up at the question, eye flicking over his phone screen to gauge the different sets of pyjamas currently in his shopping cart. He isn’t entirely sure if he wants the light blue one with stripes, or the green one with the polka dotted pants, and it’s only when Jongin nudges the hand on which he’s leaning away, making Taemin almost hit his chin on the counter, that he looks up.

“Who?” he asks, uninterested, sucking on his lower lip as he tries to make a decision concerning the pyjamas; Jongin gives him a disappointed look.

“That blonde guy. You know, kinda small, brilliant smile…”

Taemin looks up in amusement before casting his eyes down to his phone again. “Sounds like you have a crush,” he teases with split attention; the decision on his nightwear is a hard one.

He doesn’t see Jongin roll his eyes. “At least I don’t crush on a voice. Did he, though?”

Taemin shrugs. “Not since the other day? He’s probably gotten busy… or actually started sleeping.” He sighs, dismissing both of the pyjamas in his cart, slipping his phone back into the pocket of his jeans. It’s not like he’s actually gonna wear them, anyway.

When he looks up, Jongin is looking at his with a curious expression. “Hey, Taemin, did you notice that the guy is—“

Jongin doesn’t get to finish his sentence as the bell atop the glass door jingles as it swings open, drawing Taemin’s attention to the customer entering. A little smile breaks over his lips as he sees the blonde strands of hair poking out from under the hoody, strangely familiar.

“Good evening,” Taemin says with more vigour than he’s used to of himself, earning an amused look from the other man; and Jongin is quick to disappear in one of the aisles, to Taemin’s big relief.

“Hi,” the other replies, and his voice is softer than Taemin expected. There’s a little pause, both rather unsure what to say next. Taemin’s eyes wander along the other’s outfit curiously; the pleated shirt knotted around his hips, crinkled at the hems, almost makes him crack a smile.

“Uh, I’ll take these,” the silence is broken a moment later by the customer putting two packs of Kit Kats and a water bottle unto the counter; Taemin takes a couple of seconds to process that’s he’s supposed to be scanning the items. He doesn’t really expect any more conversation, so when he hears the low tremor of the man’s voice, he looks up in surprise.

“I’m sorry I rushed out on you the other day,” he chuckles, giving Taemin an apologetic smile. It takes Taemin a little to remember what he means, but when he does he just mouthes an ‘oh’, and shrugs.

“I’d already forgotten,” he says dismissively, giving him a small smile. He doesn’t want him to think he might’ve been angry, because, to be frank, he doesn’t even know the guy.

“My name’s Jonghyun, by the way.” he introduces himself. Well, maybe now Taemin can’t claim that he doesn’t know him anymore. He smiles anyway, because the guy seems nice and even though he’d never admit it to Jongin, he is kind of cute.

“I’m Taemin. Nice to meet you.” He says, and there’s a moment of awkward silence again — one that’s swiftly broken by the sound of something in one of the aisles crashing down the shelves.

“I’m okay, don’t worry! You don’t need to help me!” comes the call from Jongin, and Taemin can’t help rolling his eyes — Jongin is obviously not okay. Jonghyun laughs a little, and the sound of it seems very familiar; for a moment Taemin completely forgets to ask for the price.

“Uh, that’ll be 4450 won,” he regains quickly, and Jonghuyn’s fast to hand him the money.

“Are you gonna listen to that radio show again tonight?” he asks when Taemin hands him the change, and his tone is suddenly so shy that Taemin wonders if he’s done or said anything wrong.

“Uhm, yeah, I guess so. I listen to it every night during work.” he answers a little confused. There’s another loud crash from where Jongin is hiding between the shelves, and Taemin glances to the aisles, worried. “Look, I’m sorry but I think I have to go help,” he says, and Jonghuyn nods at his words.

“Of course. I’ll see you around.”

Taemin turns a little to see him walk out of the store, only looking back once the glass doors close behind him. He gives a little wave before sauntering off, and Taemin makes his way around the counter to go look for Jongin.

He finds him between countless bags of chips littered all over the floor, lips pushed into a pout as he tries to put them back into the shelves. Taemin can’t help but laugh at Jongin’s dejected face before crouching down to help him; Jongin still gives him a look.

“How did flirting go?” he asked nonchalantly, but there’s a twinkle in his eyes that Taemin can immediately read as trouble.

“We weren’t flirting, Jongin. We were just talking.” Taemin says matter of factly, though his cheeks might be turning a little pink at the thought of Jonghyun’s sweet smile.

“He finally told you his name?” Jongin presses on; Taemin wonders if it’s illegal to burry your coworker under a pile of chips bags until they suffocate.

“Yeah. It’s Jonghyun.” he still replies, because pushy Jongin is still worse than curious Jongin. His coworker’s eyebrows raise up at the name, lips passing out a knowing ‘ahah!’. Taemin is more confused than he was when Jonghyun ran out on him.

“What?” is his turn to ask, eyebrows furrowed, and he leans closer to Jongin, interested. “What’s wrong?”

Jongin gives Taemin the most disapproving look he’s ever seen, and Taemin feels silly for even asking. But he still wants to know, and he’s not gonna take any chances, so he raises his eyebrows in an expectant manner, urging Jongin on. 

“I can’t believe you’re so dense,” he sighs, shaking his head as he bends back down to stack the bags back up on the shelves. Taemin makes a face — being halfway called stupid is not what he had in mind to hear at all.

“Are you gonna say anything interesting or not?” he pouts, folding his arms and leaning his weight back against the shelf behind him. Jongin sends him a look that makes Taemin shrink back just a little, but he’s not ready to let go.

“That Jonghyun. He’s the radio DJ guy you’ve been crushing on for the past three months.” Jongin chuckles with a smirk, one that makes Taemin want to kick his ass for being so haughty. “I can’t believe you’ve been serenading his voice all this time and can’t even tell it’s him when he spoke to you face to face.”

“How can you—“ but it stuns the retort Taemin had on his tongue quiet, instead making his mind process what Jongin just told him. If that was true, then he had made one of the biggest fools of himself in front of Jonghyun. He even complimented the guy right to his face without realizing — Taemin’s ears are starting to turn very hot at the thought.

“Oh my God,” he spits out, gasping for air as he tries to still his heart and the blush spreading across his face, “I told him his voice is ‘something else’. How lame is that?”

He tries not to bury his face in his hands as Jongin gives him a rather bemused look. “I’m sure he didn’t think of it as lame. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s into you, judging from the—“

“Shut up!” Taemin almost squeals as he runs back behind the cash register, hiding his face in his folded arms. This was not supposed to happen this way, how could he have been so stupid not to notice they were one and the same guy?

It takes Taemin the rest of the night to get rid of the constant red in the tip of his ears, and by the time their shift is over and the morning dawns, his bottom lip is cracked from Taemin’s constant nibbling on it.

—

When Taemin wakes up in the late afternoon, he’s instantly glad that tonight was going to be his night off. Just the thought of seeing Jonghyun tonight after the realization that he’s indeed the same radio DJ Taemin can’t help but swoon over his voice; it’s far too embarrassing.

He groans as he tries to get up and stumbles into his kitchen, immediately planning to make himself a coffee. He feels a little roughed up — probably the lack of sleep he generally gets — and he doesn’t particularly feel like going out for the night. Coffee, coffee sounds good though, he muses as he waits for the coffee machine to heat up. Tonight he’s going to watch movies, sprawled out on the couch, forgetting everything embarrassing concerning Jonghyun.

 

It’s easier said then done, when Taemin’s already through his third movie and has three cups of coffee more in his system. He isn’t sure anymore if the movie’s main role is actually an actor or an actress, instead the sound of Jonghyun’s voice coming back to his thoughts and the look on his face when Taemin told him directly how much he liked it.

He still feels the embarrassment settle in his stomach, but the caffeine overpowers it just a little bit more. He glances at the clock when he realizes it’s already past 1am, and without thinking he bolts up to get his phone. He opens the radio app and waits for Jonghyun’s voice to fill the silence in the apartment (the tv is long since muted by now).

“Tonight the moon is shining quite bright, don’t you agree?” 

Jonghyun’s voice is soft and raspy, and Taemin immediately gets a little shiver down his spine. He can’t believe he didn’t recognise it, can’t believe that he just didn’t notice.

“It’s almost the full moon, which means that it’s time for our special calling event.” Taemin’s ears perk up at the words, and he bites on his lip, listening. “If you are still awake and listening to tonight’s show, you are invited to call and leave your thoughts on anything that’s occupying your mind this late at night. I will listen to every one of you. Let’s have a nice chat!”

Taemin’s heart skips just slightly at the thought that maybe — maybe he should call. It’s a stupid idea, obviously silly and so so cliché; he really shouldn’t do it.

Taemin listens the the two minute commercial break with his insides twisting both in anxiousness and excitement, and he’s still debating whether it would be a good idea to give it a try by the time Jonghyun’s voice is blasting back through the speakers. 

“We are just receiving our first caller. Good evening,” Jonghyun chuckles at the word,” or rather, good morning! What’s your name?”

The reply comes with a little giggle, and Taemin feels his heart beat so hard against his ribcage that he might have broken something. “My name is Im Jiyeon,” the caller says, and Taemin wonders how she can have the courage to call but he does not.

He tunes the conversation out, instead fumbling with his phone, unsure of what to do. Would Jonghyun even know it was him? Would he even care? They only met a couple of times in the past few weeks — he could hardly even call it an acquaintance. 

Taemin listens to two more calls just like this, mind blank and thoughts still racing. He doesn’t even notice how his fingers have already typed in the number Jonghyun keeps mentioning, and it’s only when he presses the phone against his ear that he notices just what exactly he’s doing.

“Hello? Welcome to the Blue Night Show! How are you tonight?” Jonghyun picks up after the fourth ring just when Taemin wanted to end the call. He’s not prepared, not in the least bit, and his voice cracks just a little as he replies.

“Hi, uh, good I think,” he says with a little tremble in his tone, but Jonghyun doesn’t seem to notice.

“Good! What’s your name?” he asks, and Taemin can tell that there’s a grin on his face. It makes his heart rate increase just a little, and he can feel the adrenaline of both the caffeine and his nerves pump through his veins.

“T— Taemin. It’s Taemin,” he says a little more smoothly, and suddenly he can hear a chuckle from the other side of the line.

“Oh, Taemin-ssi? What brings you to call us tonight?” Jonghyun replies, and Taemin doesn’t know if he’s imagining the amusement in his voice; he’s definitely not imagining the way Jonghyun seemed to recognise his name.

“There’s a story I’ve been thinking about that I’d like your opinion on, Jonghyun-ssi,” Taemin starts, and he feels the confidence rise inside of him. It might be caffeine, but Taemin is not going to get picky.

“Go ahead, then,” he hears Jonghyun say, and it’s enough to make his heart do a little leap. Taemin clears his throat a little.

“I work the night shifts at a convenience store, always listening to this broadcast,” he starts. His fingers are trembling a little bit, but he tries to give it no mind. “A couple of days earlier I met a customer there, and well, I kind of think they’re cute. They always come in the middle of the night buying snacks.”

Taemin stops, listening intently to hear if there’d be any reaction. It’s quiet on the other side of the line, but Taemin can feel Jonghyun is still listening.

“I was a little embarrassed because I didn’t realize who they were when they came to buy things until someone pointed it out to me yesterday,” Taemin wipes his hand on his thigh, “but I was wondering if you think it still might be a good idea to ask them out for a drink sometime?”

There’s silent when Taemin asks the question. He doesn’t really know what he’s expected in the first place; he really didn’t think this through. He curses himself silently, and he feels his heart sink with every second Jonghyun takes to reply. Finally, he hears Jonghyun clear his throat on the other side of the line.

“Well, this… story of yours is interesting, Taemin-ssi.” he says with a slightly elevated tone, and Taemin thinks he must be smiling. “I would recommend that you try your luck. I’m sure that customer finds you cute, too.”

Taemin’s stomach does a leap so violently that he feels like he’s just been kicked in the chest, his heart pulsing through his veins and in his ears. He feels the wide grin stretch on his face, feels silly and elated and positively buzzing, and he can’t help but chuckle.

“Alright. Thank you for your advice, I think I’ll take it.” he answers, and he can hear Jonghyun chuckling again. “Goodbye!”

“Goodbye, Taemin-ssi,” is the last thing he hears before he hangs up, and it’s with shaky fingers that he looks at his phone, completely star-struck.

Taemin hears his phone go off during the next commercial break, having spent the past ten minutes staring at the ceiling of his apartment in disbelief, and he scrambles up so fast he almost knocks his phone down onto the floor.

_from: 10xx-xxxx — 1:32 am_   
_‘you really didn’t recognise me? :( is my voice that different on and off air??’_

There’s a laugh escaping Taemin’s lips as he reads the text, and he quickly saves Jonghyun’s number before he replies, fingers still a little bit too shaky to type smoothly.

_to: jonghyun — 1:34 am_   
_‘it’s even better. :)’_

_from: jonghyun — 1:34am_   
_‘liar. the snack tomorrow night is on you.’_

There’s a smug smile stretching on Taemin’s lips, and he thinks that it will probably not be the last.

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this is unedited bc it's late and i have to study tmrw and I really really don't wanna read through it again ;; I hope it's still okay I took some time to write it ;;


End file.
